'Bargain buy' Theo Walcott can be a big player for Everton - Sam Allardyce

Everton’s new £20m forward returns to former club Arsenal today, barely a fortnight after leaving them.

But Toffees boss Allardyce believes Walcott’s great relationship with the club smoothed the way to a cut-price deal.

“A lot of negotiation was done by Theo,” said Allardyce.

“Because of his service to the club and the fact he would accept what Arsene was doing, he is not a troublesome player who would throw the toys out of the pram. That respect between him and the club resulted in the move.

“He could have gone back to his hometown club Southampton who were our big rivals but the challenge he sees at Everton – can he get Everton to where they want to be? - he would help in that.

“There are no easy negotiations with Arsenal, believe you me, but eventually the negotiations got to where we did and the insistence for the first time ever from Theo that he wanted to leave.

Everton unveil Theo Walcott

THEO WALCOTT has been officially presented as an Everton player.

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“He chose us and hopefully he’ll be a big player for us”

Sam Allardyce

“Plus the respect they have for each other and the service he gave, probably was a factor.”

Walcott will get the chance to say a proper farewell to Arsenal fans and his old team-mates after 12 years at the club having arrived as a teenage sensation from Southampton.

He cleared out his locker last month in the dead of night with virtually no one around to say goodbye.

Allardyce believes Walcott would have been happy to see out his career at the Gunners, if only boss Arsene Wenger had played him more this season.

The 28-year-old didn’t start a single league game this term until his move to Goodison Park.

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Sam Allardyce watches his Everton side in action

Allardyce said: “A lot of things have been said about Theo – he hasn’t reached his full potential and all that – but I don’t know how you could say that after last season’s performance - 30-plus games, 19 goals.

“If he’d have been playing a lot this year he would have been happy to finish his career at Arsenal.

“This time around, because he wasn’t getting his game time, he looked at his career and decided he had to leave.

“He chose us and hopefully he’ll be a big player for us.”

Allardyce will make a late decision on whether Seamus Coleman starts after he came through 90 minutes against Leicester in midweek following nine months out with a broken leg.